Process relating to switch-heels.



J. G. HARTLEY.

PROCESS RELATING TO SWITCH HEELS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB- 12. 1915.

1,158,684. Y Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

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J. G. HARTLEY.

PROCESS RELATING TO SWITCH HEELS.

APPLICATION men FEB. 12. 1915.

1 ,1 58,584. Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

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INVENTOR ATI'QRN EY COLUMBIA PuNouIAPH 60.. WASHINGTON, n. c.

JOHN GREENWALD HARTLEY, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PROCESS RELATING TO SWITCI-I -HEELS.

Continuation in part of application Serial No. 876,397, filed December 10, 1914.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

This application filed February 12, 19-15. Serial No. 7,729.

To all whom it may concern Be'it known that 1, JOHN GREENWALD HARTLEY, a citizen of the United States, re-

siding at 2505 South Nineteenth street,

Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Process Relating to Switcl1-Heels,'of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to switches for street use, having a tongue swinging about a deseal a switch heel joint by oil so that lifting of the heel will cause vacuum conditions within the joint.

A further purpose of my invention is to utilize atmospheric pressure as a means for restraining the tongue and heel against displacement.

r A further purpose of my invention is to distribute oil within a switch heel joint from a point inside of the joint and to expel by thedirection of air from the joint in part distribution of the oil.

A further purpose of my invention is to supply oil to the heel andprevent hardened accumulation and freezing of matter about the tongue by forming an oil pool about the tongue in the switch body, preferably in communication with the heel joint. 7

A further purpose of my invention is to provide annular 'oil reserve spaces within a switch heel joint and preferably protected from intrusion of foreign matter as a re-' serve in connection with an oil lubricating system sealing against admission of air or moisture or bothto the joint.

A further purpose of my invention is to provide a simple admission for air into the body of the joint which may be made available when desired to relieve the vacuum condition and permit easy lifting of the heel. I have preferred to illustrate my invention by but one general form and slight modifications from among the many forms by which my invention may be carried out and which will occur to switch designers in new of my disclosures herein, selecting one which has proved to be practicable and efficient and which at the same time well illustrates the principles of my invention.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a switch body, tongue and heel embodying the preferred form of my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged top plan View of a part of Fig. 1 with the tongue in a different position from that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the tongue and heel shown in Figs.

1 and 2. Fig. 4 is an enlarged section of Fig. 2 taken upon the lines H thereof, looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse section corresponding to line 55 in Fig. 2, showing the switch body and tongue structure with my lifting mechanism in place. Figs. 6 and 7 are sectional views corresponding in position to Fig. 4: and showing modifications.

1 In the drawings, similar numerals of reference indicate like parts.

This application is composed of matter almost wholly divided out from my application for tongue switch heel, filed December 10, 1914, Serial No. 876,397.

The tongue switch constructions at pres ent in use, to the best of my knowledge, all utilize some form of tightening device for the pivot. This'requires a side take-up for the heel socket and, in practice, is accomplished by placing a wedge or other like 1Lnechanism in a box at the side of the switch ody.

The switch tongue heel pin must be accessible for cleaning at intervals, varying from a few days to several weeks, and must be removed each time it is cleaned. For this reason, the box in which the tightening mechanism is located must be readily accessible and the socket within the switch body must be loosened for removal of the tongue and heel and subsequently tightened at corresponding intervals. Mud and water unavoidably enter and frequently fill the box and cause a great deal of trouble. This is Y. worst in winter time because of freezing of the mud and water in the box. It is often necessary to thaw the box out before the tongue and attached heel can be removed from the switch body.

While my invention is designed particularly to present,-retain and protect a superior heel joint which requires no adjustment of any characterand hence avoids the use of such a box, I aim also to reduce the need and hence the frequency of removal of the tongue and heel for cleaning, and to simplify the removal when it does become tongue switch bed 4, within which the tongue 5' 15.

swings, is the same as in previous constructions and I have made no variation whatever in the surface of the tongue engaged by the wheels. 4 as laterally extended I have shown the bed at intervals, as at 6, to give access for a crow bar, if required, and as affording intermediate side surfaces 7 to support the tongue against the thrust of the car wheels.

I prefer to construct the depending tongue heel in the form shown in Fig. 1. For convenience of manufacture of the seat or socket within which the heel of my tongue switch turns, I have inserted a separate manganese steel pin 8 within the preferably cylindrical bore 9 of the body, welding the pin in at 10 after it has been finished to the sizeidesired. This permits me to grind the parts of the pin more conveniently before insertion than I could if this pin structure were integral with the body and also allows a different steel to be used for the pin if desired. It will be recognized that this separation of parts during manufacture is a mereconvenience and is not a part of my inventio'nJ I The heel pin 11 is given a reentrant surface' for greaterbearing support and to improve the 'oil seal against air inlet. 'It is formed as a depending open-ended cylinder, or approximate cylinder. While I show the sides as of substantially uniform diameter, some taper would not affect the principle of invention. Any considerable taper would make the fit loose with but slight lifting of the tongue heel pin in the body This would lose some of the advantages of my invention, though other features invented by me would still be present. The outer surface 12 is preferably a close fit in the interior bore 9 of the switch body at this point and the bottom 13 of the hollow tongue heel pin may have bearing upon the surface 14 of the pin 8. v r

The interior of the depending hollow pin is shown as having two different diameters at 15 and16 to cooperate with correspondingly different-exterior surfaces 17 and 18 upon the body pin. To allow for possible vertical movement because of wear, the

lower edge 19 of the surface 15 does not engage the upper edge 20 of the surface 18.

tongue switch heel able.

For convenience in manufacture and fitting, and so that thegrindlng ofthe surface of smaller diameter need not be carried up against the corner,. an annular space 21' i is left at this point! Obviously, other annu:

The variation in diameters of-the upper. and lower lnner surfaces of the depending just described is again a matter of convenience merely, for use where the interior heel plug, hereinafter described, is intended tobe constructed asaseparate piece from the tongue heel. lVhere the heel and plug are made in separate parts, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6, the difference in "diameters' shown permits the plugto be inserted as nearly home as may-prove desirable before it engages with the surface-into which -it must be fitted tightly and into the movement during insertion-of the heel and the last part during removal of the heel. The structure as thus far described might therefore be summarized as providing adewhich'it is seated." There is, howeveigsome' V pending open-ended cylinder,- or substan tially cylindrical collar'upon theh'eel to'fit intoan annular channel between the body if andpin, engaging laterally'bothinside and outside thereaga-inst through as large a bear- The' ing and wearing surfaces as possible. structure as thus far described is" itself valu} It value is enhanced other features of my invention.

'l' flange the tongue member about and: l

by the different 7 rot above the'heel, as at 23,to"providea sur-" face 2 1 of greater diameter than the heel pin to rest upon the horizontal surface-25 of tl ebottom of the tongue bed, wh1ch,-for

conveniencejl will call a ledge, whether it the bottom: of the affordsextended'sup 1 be in thesame plane as tongue bed ornot; "It port against tilting and an additionalv horizontal wear surface. It 'also"givesan air inafter described and protectsagainstin- .120 seal here, in conjunction with the oilhere trusion of foreign matter between the sur faces 9 and 12. The flange 23bearsagainst the substantially cylindrical sides of the switch bed, shownat 26 throughout about half a circumference to give lateral support about this surface also. It is'my purpose to utilize oil between the surfaces both as a lubricant and to secure an air seal and V Fig. 7.

produce a partial vacuum as the heel is air and obtain the best advantage from the oil by filling the interior as completely as possible with the oil, cooperates with other parts of my invention designed to give ad ditional bearing surface and to release or relieve the joint of air as-the partsiarebeing assembled and permit entry of air when it is desired to remove the tongueand heel without i-inpairingthe vacuum-created by accidental lifting. I

Within the cylindrical heel pin I place a downwardly extending tapered plug 27. This is made as a separate piece from the pin in Figs. 4t andfi, merely for convenience in construction but the separate construction of the parts does not affect my invention. The part 27 is integral with the tongue in hen separate it is made a driving fit within the pin in the location shown. here the tapered plug is made as a separate part, it is supported against vertical pressure by the ring 28 and is shown as tapered at 29 to cooperate with the tapered counterbore 30 upon the upper part of the recess .31 within the bodv pin. The under surface 32 of the plug flange and upper surface 33 of the body pin preferably do not meet, allowing for vertical movement at this point without wearand providing a space for oil reserve from which the oil will flow into the heel bearing under certain conditions. For example, if'there be pressure at this point above that of the atmosphere, such as might be present if any air were trapped inthis spaceand compressed, some oil will havea tendency to flow into the joint whenever the supply of oil in the adjacent part of the joint is reduced for whatever reason. There would also be a flow of this oil into the joint to close the leak whenever air leaked through the joint from the outside.

As the horizontal surfaces 13 and 24 upon and about the switch pin wear against the horizontal surfaces .lt and 25 of the body pin and body and the switch tongue, which has also worn meantime, settles very slightly in a vertical direction within the body, the tapered plug 27 settles down farther in the tapered opening.

In the form shown in Fig. 4 I provide vent holes 34 and 36 through the heel end of the switch tongue and the flange of the tapered plug respectively (34 through the integral structures in Fig. 7) normally closed by a plug 35. When the plug is in place, the operation is of course identical with the operation in Fig. '7. However, the plug may be removed ordinarily by driving it inwardly and the opening 36 is made larger than the opening 34 to facilitate this removal.

The assemblage of the parts with the'plug in'place or in the form shown in Fig. 7 is as follows :I fill the entire cavity 37 in the body pin with oil. I find that I get my best results with a fairly heavy oil which will not gum in cold weather. I have secured good results from the so-called black or well oil of commerce, mixed with kerosene. As the switch pin is lowered or dropped to place, the air within it is largely expelled 1 before ,any of the oil has been forced out of the cavity in the body pin by the plug 27. When-this plug enters the c'ounterbore of the recess 31 and overflow of oil begins, the oil is expelled with more or less force according to the speed of downward movement of the heel. It spreads out,

fan-like, and, if the switch heel settle quickly to place, impinging against the wall at 32, carrying the air ahead of it and holding together long enough to fill first the upper part and ultimately all of the steadily decreasing space between the lower surface 32 of the plug flange and the upper surface 33 of the body pin. This drives nearly all, if not all, of the remaining air out of this annular space and leaves it filled with oil when the parts come to rest. I may also put some oil initially in the lower part of the channel between the wall 9 of the body and the body pin. This will usually not be desirable in the form shown in Fig. 6, or with the plug in place in the other figures, because it tends to trap the air within the heel and about the plug; and is also usually not necessary because the overflow from the body pin recess supplies the oil desired in the channel and, in fact, throughout the joint. However, this channel offers an initial cavity for anv additional oil desired.

Whether the channel be supplied with oil initially or not the air in the channel is forced out by the entry of the heel pin and by oil. The oil in the channel, whether placed there initially or over-flowed into it will be forced upwardly outside of the heel pin, between the surfaces 24L and 25, forming an air seal and lubricant not only at this point but throughout this outer part also of the joint. The quantity of oil, wherever placed, may be made suficient to fill any annular spaces such as 21 or 22, which the convenience of grinding or the desirability of such reserves has led the designer to provide. These annular oil pockets may be used to hold a greater oil reserve to make up any loss and keep the surfacesreliably air sealed and lubricated, or to so distribute reserve oil supply as to have a reserve close to each part of the joint and to supply one or a series of pool protections from air leakage. Any other spaces may be left for oil reservoirs for the same purpose. Obviously, the annular space 22 will be of little benefit as a pool for reserve oil where the flange 23 merges into a tongue having its lower surface in the same'plane with the flange or below it unless other means be taken to "maintain the oil level in the space.

V In the forms shown inFigs. 4 and 7 the vent holes 34, 34, 36 may be left open during the assemblage for the escape of air "through the vent, allowing the heel to settle down into the joint and the air to vent therethrough until the presence of oil in the vent hole in quantity shows that the vent at this point is no longer required for air egress, at Which time a plug is driven into I hole 34, 34. In subsequent movement, the

'parts'operate as if there were no vent holes present.

When the heel pin is to beremoved from the hole in the body, advantage may be taken of the vent hole to relieve the condition of partial vacuum, which would otherwise oppose withdrawal of the pin. The plug may be driven through the vent hole 34 or 34, after which air will be supplied to the interior of the joint through the vent hole as rapidly as required in the withdrawal of the heel. In this way, .the advantages of the form shown in Fig. 6 may be obtained, with the privilege of air outlet through the vent when assembling the parts nel22 that I have considered it unnecessary to illustrate any of the various other meth ods of so doing, which Wlll occur to designers of switc es.

In order to insure proper lubrication of the switch tongue and at the same time prevent intrusion of moisture and hardenin" of any dirt that settles within the switch bed, with their attendant evils of freezing and interference with the movement of the switch tongue, I fill the tongue bed to an appreciable depth with oil, so that there shall always be sufiicient oil to keep soft the dirt accumulated between intended cleaning intervals. To insure this it is better to plan for free fluid oil at all times in addition to such oil as may be absorbed by the dirt accumulated. The depth of oil may readily be made sufficient to fill the channel 22 as deeply as desired and keep any dirt in the channel soft, so that it will not obstruct the movement of the tongue. The oil in the tongue bed will lubricate the sides of the flange 23.

I believe that I am the first to provide an open considerable pool of oil for the purpose of receiving inevitable dirt and maintaining it in soft condition While at the same time lubricating a joint and preventing in trusion of moisture present in quantity; and that I am thefirst to utilize oil for the receptlon of dirt and maintenance of the dirt in soft condition and exclusion'of moisblack oil and in the coldest weather supply.

as much as 75% of kerosene.

-When the parts are in place 'there'will be little, 1f any air below the level of the-surfaces 23, '24, and theclose fit of the parts. i

tively high central bearingiof the plug 27 and the close fit provided for the entire heel pin externally and internally between the body and body plug. 1

It will be seen that I provide two pairs of horizontal annular bearing surfaces, 13

against '14: and24 against 25, to receive the I weight of the trains and divide vertical and lateral wear, greatly stiffening against side strain and tilting and reducing the extent of abrasion by wear.

In order to provide for the withdrawal wear, and four pairs oflateral bearing surof the tongue and heel, I provide preferably undercut apertures 38 in the side of thi member placed-atsuch a distance from the ends as that the weight of the tongue at the left of the apertures in Fig. 2 shall balance the weight of the'tongue and heel to the right thereof,plus the air pressure'upon the heel made effective'by the vacuum conditions'within when the heel is beingwithdrawn; and I supply a special tool for engaging the tongue withln these depresslons yoke 39, any suitable lifting mechanism, here shown as bolt-4.0 and nut 41 operated by lever arms 42, and a'link 43 to which the hooks 44 are pivoted at 45. The link is pivoted to the bolt at 46 so as to adjust the pull to the position of and strain upon the tongue. The ends 47 of the hook are shown as undercut to correspond with the openings and the total depth of each hook from its point to the edge 48 must not exceed the space available between the tongue and side of the tongue bed at this point when the r and lifting it. This tool comprises the tongue is thrown to the extreme opposite side from that at which the hook is being entered.

The operation of this lifting mechanism will be obvious from the illustration in Fig. 5. 3 g It will be evident that apart of the benefit of my invention may be obtained by portions of the construction of heel pin and cooperating body, without other parts thereof, or by other constructions equivalent thereto, in view of the disclosure herein; that my oil seal may be used even without distribution of the oil initially from the interior of the heel, to some advantage and with widely different mechanical constructions; that my open pool of oil for prevention of concentration and hardening of dirt in the tongue bed may be of advantage independently of the character of heel joint, even without the oil seal; and that the open pool is of great advantage in maintaining lubrication and oil seal within a heel joint of whatever character.

It will be evident that the angle of taper of the plug 27 is approximately the same as that of the gage side of the rail head. While this is advantageous as a recognized safe angle of taper upon which wheel flanges will not mount and with which there will be no tendency to wedge the plug upwardly because of side strain due to trafiic condi- V tions, its selection was guided also by the angle of upward and outward flow needed to secure a desirable distribution of oil throughout the upper part of the space between surfaces 32 and 33 so that the air should be reliably expelled ahead of the oil.

It will be evident that any tendency of surface water to fioat off the oil usedin my switch tongue bed and switch heel joint will be offset in part by the tendency of the oil to remain as a film upon a surface and by the protection of the oiled surface upon the inside of the heel pin against the intrusion of water and escape of oil. While the pool of water surrounding the lower part of the tongue in the bed might be disturbed and a considerable portion of the oil floated off when there was a considerable rain, re-

quiring replacement, a portion of the oil would remain and the extent of disturbance of the oil from this cause would be materially affected by the thickness of the oil used and could be reduced by using a thicker oil.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The process of retaining a switch heel against accidental vertical displacement, which consists in forming a seal of oil between the body of the switch and the heel pin inside of the heel pin.

2. The process of retaining a switch heel 3.'The process of distributing oil within the heel of a switch heel pin which consists in forming a pool of oil well up within the hollow of the pin and expelling the oil from said pool when the heel has inclosed the upper part of said pool by a projection within the heel pin and moving with it.

4. The process of excluding air from the hollow of a switch heel and filling it with oil, which consists in providing a projection upon the switch body to enter the hollow heel, recessing the upper surface of the projection, placing oil in the recess and providing a projection upon the heel within its hollow part to enter the recess and expel the oil.

5. The process of expelling air and dis tributing oil within the joint between a switch heel pin and switch body, which consists in expelling oil in an upward and outward direction from a point inside the heel pin as the pin is being lowered to position within the switch.

6. The process of filling the hollow of a switch heel with oil which consists in providing a projection upon the switch body to enter the hollow heel, recessing the upper surface of the projection, placing oil in the recess and providing a projection upon the heel within its hollow to enter the recess and expel the oil, shaping the material adjoining the projection to guide the oil projected outwardly to force oil into the upper part of the space before the lower part thereof is filled.

7. The process of filling the interior of a hollow switch heel with oil and expelling the air therefronn'which consists in providing a pin within the switch body to enter the hollow of the switch heel, recessing the upper part of the pin, placing oil within the recess, providing a projection upon the heel to enter the recess and shaping the engaging surface of the projection and recess to give the oil expelled by the entry of the projection, as the pin is put in place, an upward and outward movement to force oil into the upper part of the space between the pin and projection first driving the air ahead of it.

8. The process of removing a heel pin having pressure upon the top, not balanced against corresponding pressure within the joint of the pin and body, which consists in admitting air within the interior of the joint through the top of the heel pin as the pin is withdrawn.

9. The process of filling the interior of a hollow switch heel with oil, expelling air therefrom and providing unbalanced pressure upon the top of the heel, resisting Withthrough the top of the heel and subsequently drawal thereof, which consists in placlng oil closing the passage through which the air Within the switch body, forcing it upwardly has discharged. 7

into the space Within the hollow of the heel JOHN GREENWALD HARTLEY. 5 pin by downward movement of the heel, at Witnesses: v V

the same time that air from Within the hol- GERTRUDE BAD R,

low of the heel pin is allowed to discharge WM. STEELL JACKSON.

Washington, I). G.

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